CHandrasAtmospheric Composition Explorer-2 (CHACE-2) is a quadrupole mass spectrometer based payload, meant for detailed in-situ study of the composition of the lunar neutral exosphere and its variability. The instrument will operate in the range of 1 to 300 amu, from 100 km circular polar orbiter platform in Chandrayaan-2 mission. This is a sequel to the CHACE experiment (2008) aboard the Moon Impact Probe (MIP) in Chandrayaan-1, which successfully studied the lunar day-side exosphere for the first time, and yielded several important science results. The flight model of the payload is integrated with the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter and the Integrate Satellite Tests (IST) are successfully completed.

ChaSTE for Chandrayaan-2 Lander

Electronics of the ChaSTE payload is designed and developed for deployment and insertion of its thermal probe (consists of 10 RTD sensors and a heater) into the lunar soil up to 140 mm depth in a controlled manner by driving motor based mechanism, continuous temperature measurement of the soil with a precision of 0.5K, thermal conductivity experiment by operating the probe heater and spacecraft interfaces (payload data, Telemetry and Telecommand).

RAMBHA for Chandrayaan-2

The RAMBHA payload is an approved scientific payload onboard Chandrayaan-2 aimed to study the Moon's tenuous ionosphere. It has two components- the Dual Frequency Radio Science Experiment (DFRS) for measurement of Total Electron Content and the Langmuir Probe (LP) for studying the electron density and its variations near the lunar surface. The RAMBHA-LP is based on the principle of a spherical Langmuir Probe in a plasmaspheric environment and is sweep-biased onboard from -14V to +14V at a fast rate by the RAMBHA-LP Onboard Controller (ROC) electronics. The mode of operation of the payload can be changed through a set of software telecommands, issued from the spacecraft. A LabVIEW based checkout system is developed for the detailed tests and evaluation of all the models of the payload in lab.

PAPA for Aditya-L1 mission

Plasma Analyser Package for Aditya (PAPA) payload for the Aditya-L1 mission aims at studying the composition of solar wind and its energy distribution continuously throughout the missions life time. PAPA contains two sensors: Solar Wind Electron Energy Probe (SWEEP) to measure the solar wind electron flux and Solar Wind Ion Composition AnalyseR (SWICAR) to measure the ion flux and composition as a function of direction and energy. LabVIEW based checkout software to program PXIe based checkout hardware is being developed for the designer level as well as complete package level Test and Evaluation of the payload.

MENCA aboard the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM)

The Mars Exospheric Neutral Composition Analyser (MENCA) is a quadrupole mass spectrometer based payload for the in-situ study of the Martian neutral exosphere. The instrument was flown in the Mars Orbiter Mission (2013). It studied the Martian neutral exosphere in the mass range of 1 to 300 amu and the variation of the major constituents of the Martian exosphere (atomic Oxygen, Carbon Monoxide plus molecular Nitrogen, Carbon Dioxide) during the local evening sector. It successfully studied the Oxygen-to-Carbon Dioxide dominance transition altitude during the local evening, which is a clue to understand the solar forcing on the Martian atmosphere. MENCA also discovered suprathermal Argon atoms in the Martian exosphere. These results are published in the Geophysical Research Letters journal.

The MENCA payload aboard the Mars Orbiter Mission

Sounding Rocket Experiments (SOUREX:2018-19)

To address the important scientific issues that have emerged in the area of space weather in recent years, a comprehensive experimental campaign involving a series of sounding rockets is planned. This is aimed at a comprehensive study of the electron density and neutral winds in the dynamo region, using the indigenous payloads, Electron density and Neutral Wind (ENWi) probe, Langmuir Probe(LP) and Tri-Methyl Aluminium (TMA) release. The first phase of the campaign involves launch of one RH300 MKII and one RH560 rockets with the above payloads. The first step of this has been successfully done with the launch of a RH 300 MKII with the payloads, from Thumba during the twilight hours on April 6, 2018.

Automatic Nighttime Photometer (ANP)

The night-time Photometer is an in-house developed compact multi-filter optical instrument for measuring the intensities of faint airglow emissions from the Mesosphere-Thermosphere region. This system is capable of making measurements at five different wavelengths (centered at 557.7, 630.0, 777.4 and 731.6 and 740.2 nm). The photometer is a fully automatic instrument, where no manual interruption is required to switch ON or OFF the system and capable of operating in the user defined time slots. This makes the system ideal for remote locations and suitable for conducting field campaigns. The instrument is also capable of selecting the user defined wavelengths in any required combinations. A mirror scanning is introduced in the fore-optics to scan the sky at different elevation angles. The DAQ unit and software control the entire operation sequence and data acquisition of the photometer. The data is displayed online in the GUI window in graphical, tabular or in ticker formats. The software has provision to enter the location from where the instrument is being operated, which will be taken automatically during the subsequent operations. The data file contains the instrument settings and location details, which will be updated automatically, according to the user inputs.

Stand-alone Control and Data Acquisition System for Multi-Wavelength solar Radiometer (MWR)

Microcontroller based stand-alone control and data acquisition system is designed and developed for in-house built MWR which is the back bone instrument of ARFI project. The system is for measuring solar radiation at different wave-lengths by precise Sun tracking. It has also features like real-time data display, data storage, remote PC interface and different menu selection. It is operational in multiple ARFINET stations across India.